Marathi manoos vs Bhaiyaas'!

Wanted to write on this topic a long time ago but somehow was too pre-occupied with other stuff!

Raj Thackeray, the nephew of Hindu-Samrat, Bala Thackeray, has now targeted the Biharis' and UPwaala's who come to Mumbai in droves, month after month, year after year! Being a Bihari myself, i have mixed feelings about this issue.

Yes, Biharis' and UPwala's are coming in great numbers to Aamchi Mumbai! And that is creating too much strain on the civic system and the local residents have reasons to feel aggravated. I myself have witnessed this outflow in my native place in Bihar, where half of the present generation is either in Mumbai or Delhi or Surat... You will find them everywhere but their own village. And that includes me as well!

However, that does not give Mr. Thackeray a reason to start hating them and pushing them out of Maharashtra! If we all believe in India, One United India, this propoganda by Mr. Thackeray has to be nipped in the bud. Here is my solution to the problem:

1] Stop the attack on innocent, poor Biharis', UPwalas' in Maharashtra. This step will put Marathi people staying in other states, especially in the north, in trouble and i am sure Mr. Thackeray wouldn't like that to happen if he is a real champion of marathi manoos!

Already, we have seen a local marathi dead in Nasik due to the stone pelting, and a marathi colleague of mine at work, had her car windshield broken in the outbursts. So much for working for the pride of marathi manoos that we are hurting our own people!
2] Mr. Lalu Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati have to introspect and see what kind of development have they done in their respective states that the local population has to move out to earn a livelihood. The day, their own villages, own districts become self reliant, the outflow of population will stop. And no prizes for guessing what type of development has happened in Bihar in the past 20 yrs.

3] I don't believe that a Bihari is taking the job of a local marathi in Mumbai/Maharashtra! If they have, that means they were better in terms of qualifications/experience which i don't think is the case. Most people coming in are poor, uneducated people and they end up doing low grade jobs like driving a taxi, opening a paan-dukaan, selling vegetables, becoming a watchman, selling milk etc. I think the primary reason is that the local population was not ready to do these kind of work and hence the availability and suitability of the outsiders! The uneducated, unskilled locals should have latched on to these opportunities a long time back. If people from outside Maharashtra are doing it now, then all i can about the local population is that "they missed the bus".

If i am working in Maharashtra now, it does not mean i have taken a local's job. I don't see any reason, why and how a local would have done this job better than me. It is the age where quality of work matters and great countries and great corporations have benefitted from the diversity in their population. Prime examples are cities like New York and London, and companies like UniLever and Citibank! The Ivy-league business schools strive to get people from diverse fields, regions, experience in their intake every year!

4] Local population of Maharashtra will have to think about the kind of leadership they have at the moment! The Quality of politicians in Maharashtra is not very different from the politicians of Bihar/UP. And at the same time, they need to think if they are acquiring the skills to benefit from immense industrialisation that is happening in Maharashtra. If someone from outside Maharashtra is coming for the same job that they are aspiring, they should give them a strong reply, not with hands/fists/sticks, but with their skills! The outsider will automatically understand that chances of eeking out a living here is tough and will go back.
5] What happens with Mr. Thackeray? I strongly believe that he needs to be tried in a court for trying to create a divide between local population and citizens coming from outside Maharashtra. If we don't take strict actions, day is not far, when someone starts demanding ferociously about creating a Vidharbha from Maharashtra, a Telangana from Andhra, Bundelkhand from UP, Khalistan from Punjab, a separate country of Kasmir from India and so on. Allready we had to create Pakistan in 1947... and in the last 20 years, we have seen so many new states like Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Uttarakhand being created to fulfill regional aspirations. It is a good thing to maintain individuality in the ocean, but ultimately, we need to survive as one country! Ask yourself a question. "Am i an Indian first or a Bihari/Marathi/Bengali/Assami/Kannada/Telugu/Tamil/Gujrati/Kasmiri/Punjabi..... first?"
Take your pick! Your answer will decide the future, if India will remain India.

and yes.... i have decided to learn Marathi now.... The only thing on which i agree with Mr. Raj Thackeray is that outsiders (like me) are guilty of not imbibing local culture and traditions!
But, I still have my marathi friends intact, with me, and Sachin Tendulkar still remains my favorite batsman and listening to Lata Mangeshkar songs takes me to an all-together different world. Marathi or Bihari.... doesn't matter to me... I consider them Indians!
Signing off... as Sunny Deol would have said.... "Main Indian hoon.. Indian"

My Delhi Trip!

I am back! After njoying the winters of Delhi!
It was a cool trip.. considering the fact that Shekhar, one of my best buddy, was getting married. So i had to be there.
The thing that amazed me most was the development of Delhi and Gurgaon in particular. I had only heard about the development taking place in Gurgaon but this trip also made me witness it.
1996, was last when i went to Delhi and no one knew about Gurgaon. But now, Gurgaon has its own identity. The toll-naka between Delhi and Gurgaon amazed me with the fancy cars all lined up to cross over to Haryana and vice-versa!
All this while, i just heard about India Shining... first time that i saw it, live. Gurgaon has been developed beautifully. Full marks to the administration there!
Roads of New Delhi were simply amazing, especially the ring road (20kms stretch without a signal) and the "Quagmire of Flyovers", close to AIIMS.
Mindblowing! All in all... a trip that i will remember for a very very long time.
And i am pretty confident, i will go back to Delhi... pretty soon!
Some pics for you to enjoy!
The AIIMS flyover!

Mahabaleshwar Trip (Feb)

Half of India is in the grip of a Cold wave in Feb, we came to know that it snowed in Mahabaleshwar, we couldn't resist the temptation to go even though we have been there quite a few times.
Got the online booking done from MTDC website and off we were, 4 people on 3 bikes. Took us 3 hrs to reach. To our dismay it wasn't as cold as we expected it to be, but nevertheless, it was a memorable trip. I took "class" of my fellow TL, Somanath, after getting drunk and looks like he is still angry with me.

Roads were awesome and riding in the ghats is an experience in itself!

Next, i am going to delhi to attend a close friend's marriage! Will by flying for the first time and i am very excited about it. Will keep you posted.

Year of Travel - 2008

2008 has started on a good note for me! It is my resolution to see atleast 12 new places this year... and if my budget permits, atleast one international location.

In Jan, i went to Kashid, Murud and Janjira, which is 50kms from Alibaug and about 170kms from Pune.

Kashid beach was excellent and not that crowded! Pretty easy on pocket since it cost me around 2000 for an overnight stay, including petrol. Here are some pics.

One thing that i have found is that seafood is not very readily available and everyone is ready with a chicken dish. C'mon... i don't go to a beach to have chicken which i have quite often in Pune. Anyways, the trip was excellent and i enjoyed it thoroughly.